At birthly, they understand that starting a new family can be a daunting time, but that when families are educated, informed and supported, they thrive. Based in the UK, the birthly network is made up of a team of dedicated professionals who support emerging families in their local birth community as midwives, doulas, antenatal teachers, hypnobirthing practitioners, therapists, herbal professionals, acupuncturists and homeopaths. Their experts, along with their blog articles and supplies, help support families all the way through from pregnancy through to weaning. Here, Carly Lewis talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the inspiration behind birthly, how the business started out, and her hopes and dreams for the future.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
There is a growing need for birth workers across the world. In the UK, maternity services are struggling to provide continuity of care and support families with evidence-based information. This in turn is causing families to become disempowered and disengaged from their birth journeys. As a birth worker, this is something that I wanted to help change, to help support families during this precious time.
I felt the need for a space where families could begin to create a circle of support and build their perfect birth team! This is when birthly was born.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
When I was pregnant with my first child, I had hyperemesis gravidarum and very little support from healthcare professionals. My birth was traumatic, and it wasn’t until I had experienced this feeling of being out of control of my pregnancy and birth, that I felt a calling to support new families during this time.
I have always turned to alternative and holistic therapies when I have needed support, whether emotionally or physically. After the birth of my second child in 2012, I studied to become a doula and trained as a placenta specialist within my first year.
I helped to set up the Placenta Remedies Network in 2016 and sat on the committee for over 5 years. Many placenta specialists within the network were also covering other therapies and supporting families in other ways. There was nowhere that we could share all the ways in which we work, in one place. There was no one directory that covered everything. This was when we looked at transforming the scaffolding of PRN into a new network, shouting about all the lovely things that we offer.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
Feeling confident to jump in with both feet was my biggest breakthrough! Being neurodivergent and having severe imposter syndrome, I have struggled to feel brave enough to keep pushing my ideas forward. Noting the need for families to find many different specialists under one umbrella was the seedling. I would like the space to grow into giving the specialists a place where they can find other local members and increase their own network, along with a safe space for families to find their support team.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
With great difficulty! I think this is hard for most self-employed households. You find that you don’t switch off and can be responding to emails whilst in bed at night!
We are a neurodivergent family so having 3 autistic profiles under one roof is a tricky balancing act. But this brings benefits; I am used to working strange hours, I am great at adjusting myself to support others, and I know when to step back and take a breath.
